“Michael’s vision is to increase swimming in the US"

I've seen people (mostly womenfolk) wearing Phelps and Lochte jersey-style shirts.

I never knew what a decathlon was all about before Bruce Jenner won, so it's similar. And we all know what a big time sport decathlon has become... ;)

There are guys at work that are huge football and baseball fanatics that said they jumped in to the pool for the first time ever and were talking about how tough it was. It also has my dad and my husband interested in swimming, I never thought that day would come. The pool is definately busier at my gym than it ever has been before.

I think we are deluding ourselves if we think that one person can increase swimming in the US. Phelps can increase awareness is a "non-revenue" sport like swimming, but that will fade over time. What will enable swimming to grow is more quality facilities, well-run events at all levels, competent coaching, and sustained effort by the participants. The strength of swimming should not be predicated by having an amazing swimmer as your poster child. That said, I hope Michael Phelps helps our sport. Here is the challenge: *Pools are closing or operating on shorter hours. *Pools are used for non-lap swimming activities. *College teams are disappearing at all levels. *Kids and adults are getting fatter. *Swimming is not an inexpensive athletic activity. *NGOs for swimming are not run as well as other sports. At the top level, swimming looks to be in good shape. But look down a little bit and things are beginning to look hollow. What will sustain swimming and enable our sport to flourish is working on organizational fundamentals. We must make sure that swimming meets the needs of our customers so they keep coming back to the pool. This means at all levels from recreational to world-class. Just my $0.02 worth...

Swimming, especially coached workouts, is a great way to manage weight. But, riseforms, when I want a quick weight loss fix I go to New Hampshire and backpack in the White Mountains for 7-10 days. Works like a charm. Regards, VB

My wife says she won't ever go watch me in a meet if I wear a speedo :) After you've put in enough workouts, she may appreciate the swimmer's build more. :banana:

:woot: That's a good thing. May be a good thing but now I need to get over my sense of pride and get out of the swim trunks, I am guessing after reading through other posts. My wife says she won't ever go watch me in a meet if I wear a speedo :) It's not that I am huge.. I can definitely lose 15 lbs (5'11 195lbs) but it's not like I'd be parading around a beach (I wouldn't even have the nerve to do that anyway)... Maybe Jammers will be a good compromise...

Swimming, especially coached workouts, is a great way to manage weight. But, riseforms, when I want a quick weight loss fix I go to New Hampshire and backpack in the White Mountains for 7-10 days. Works like a charm. Regards, VB Indeed. Beautiful up here, I'm actually about a 45 minute drive from the White Mountain National Forest. Do some fly fishing on the rivers and streams around there also. I am not starting swimming for weight loss. I have been eating better and doing some weights/walking/running (until the feet acted up), I just am getting a competitive urge finally in life (at 29) and want to act out on it... Actually been swimming about 8,000m/wk for the past couple weeks and already noticing more body changes than with any of my other workouts, incidentally. Killed my calf muscle at my first masters practice. Coach said she was impressed with my stroke and dolphin kick after having no training other than videos on the internet. Wanted me to start the butterfly but I was losing the kick oomph when I added the arms in... So she had me do more kicks only and more exaggerated. My right calf tightened up worse than it ever has... Worked itself up into a hard ball.. Still sore but hoping to push through it tonight for a couple thousand yards :)

I totally agree justforfun... My 9 year old swims year round and while getting a kid interested in swimming is important, the retention of the kids is the part that is key. It does come down to the club level and without a quality program even the most gifted swimmer(s) may fall to the wayside. In my opinion, Phelps can (and has) put down a lot of groundwork for increased youth participation, but the real work to sustain interest and keep kids going in the sport has to come at the individual club (and perhaps LSC) level. They must find a way to make practices and competitions more fun and exciting for kids (and tolerable for parents). My 9 yo son really likes swimming, but his first experience with age group USA swimming (at 8) was not great. He didn't really like going to practice and what enthusiasm he had for meets was fairly quickly dashed when he realized that the competitions pretty much take up an entire weekend and then it's back to school on Monday. Compared to that, he has loved summer league, where the meets are quick and fun, and the practices are low key. He also loves soccer and basketball, where they play games regularly and even practices largely consist of games and scrimmages. You might say, hey, swimming is a tough sport and kids these days just need to be more disciplined. But, we need to get them "hooked" somewhere between 7 and 11 by making it fun, then get more serious if they continue. I think Phelps' main role is to peak the interest and get the kids to try swimming. Beyond that, it's up to coaches and parents.

I was in the hottub and a little old lady from the rusty hinges class came up to me a asked what I thought about Phelps.